MONTERREY, MEXICO--(Marketwired - May 2, 2013) - Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. ("FEMSA") (NYSE: [ FMX ]) (BMV: [ FEMSAUBD ]) (BMV: [ FEMSAUB ]) announced today that its retail subsidiary, FEMSA Comercio, has closed the acquisition of a 75% stake in Farmacias YZA after obtaining all regulatory approvals. 

Farmacias YZA is a leading drugstore operator in Southeast Mexico. Headquartered in Merida, Yucatan, Farmacias YZA currently operates more than three hundred stores. FEMSA believes that it can contribute its significant expertise in the development of small-box retail formats to what is already a successful regional player in this industry. In turn, this transaction opens a new avenue for growth for FEMSA Comercio.

FEMSA is a leading company that participates in the beverage industry through Coca-Cola FEMSA, the largest franchise bottler of Coca-Cola products in the world; in the retail industry through FEMSA Comercio, operating OXXO, the largest and fastest-growing chain of small-format stores in Latin America, and in the beer industry, through its ownership of the second largest equity stake in Heineken, one of the world's leading brewers with operations in over 70 countries.